Truth or Dare?
by CeliaEquus
Summary: Poor ol' King Jareth is just minding his own business when Sarah visits from her home in the Goblin Kingdom. He hates the consequences of the party game. But there's still hope. Disclaimer: I don't own 'Labyrinth', nor am I making money from this.


"Truth or Dare?"

The king heard her footsteps, smelled her perfume, before he even saw her enter the throne room.

"Hello, Sarah," he said, tilting his head. She curtsied. "Come now, none of that. How long have I insisted that you forego the formalities?" She blushed, smiling.

"I'm sorry, your highness."

"And I keep telling you to call me 'Jareth'," he said. "Kindly remember to do so."

"But, sir…"

"_Sarah_."

She sighed. "Yes… um, King Jareth."

He rolled his eyes to mask his true hurt. "Stubborn girl. Now." He leaned back in his throne. "What brings you to the castle this evening? You are supposed to be having a party with your friends, are you not?"

She nodded. His heart ached, as it always did when she passed him over. When she first moved to the Goblin Kingdom after breaking away from her family, she had invited him to a few parties. He only made one appearance, and that was at her Welcome Party. She lived with her friends – though now it seemed that everyone in the kingdom was friends with her… except him.

"I'll be going back there soon," she said. "But I had to come and visit you."

"Well, isn't that generous of you."

Sarah nodded, stepping forward. Jareth tensed as she climbed the steps to his throne. He had lasted only five minutes at her Welcome Party before he had to leave, unable to bear seeing her so happy in his kingdom, but not happy with _him_. So close; so far. By the time he felt confident enough to attend, she had stopped inviting him. Since then, they had very little contact with each other.

The little they had was enough. For him, anyway.

"I've come to tell you something, Jareth," she said. She rocked from one foot to the other, as she so often did when she was nervous or unsure. He watched, swelling with happiness that she had finally used his name properly, yet growing impatient.

"What is it, Sarah?"

"I…" She looked down at the ground and then back up at him, still bouncing a bit. "I have to tell you that I love you. And… and I have to do this."

Without warning – though he was too stunned to move – she bent over, cupped his cheek and pressed her lips to his.

She stole the breath right out of him for the few precious moments she maintained the kiss. Eventually she drew back, her eyes shut and her brow furrowed. He could do nothing but stare at her. The coldness of the lonely throne room seeped into his bones the further she moved away.

"Wha… why?" he whispered.

_You idiot_! the voice inside his head screamed. _That's not how you respond! Tell her that you love her, too._

Before he could correct himself Sarah spoke, her voice shaky.

"I-it was a game," she said. "I had to do it, you see. The game was… T-truth or Dare."

The blood left Jareth's face in a rush, as did the breath from his lungs. It was all false. Her friends had told her to tell him that she loved him. Did they want her to be punished for lying to the king? But she could have said no. Why didn't she?

"I…"

"I should go," she said. He briefly wondered why she was trembling, hoping that it wasn't the cold night air, but he was more concerned that she was backing towards the large dip in the floor.

"Sarah!" he shouted, pointing as he jumped forward. She turned around, nearly losing her balance, and regained her footing. They both sighed in relief.

"Thanks," she said. "Uh… good bye."

"Good night," he said. He watched her run from the room, and consequently from the castle.

Turning around he headed back to his throne. If he went to bed early he would only be unable to sleep.

It wouldn't be the first time his feelings for Sarah had kept him awake. So many nights he had agonised over everything that had happened in the labyrinth when she ended up rescuing her brat of a younger brother. Half-brother, at that. How could she love him so much, and Jareth not at all? He had done so much for her; given her the adventure that she had craved, tailored to meet the expectations of her favourite fantasy stories; he had thrown her a ball when she felt worn down and hopeless; he had bared his soul to her!

This was the final dagger. She had brought his hopes up, only to destroy them with the name of that cursed game… Truth or Dare.

* * *

Less than an hour later he watched as a number of his subjects stumbled back into the castle, trying to keep quiet. They got a hell of a shock when they looked up and saw their monarch staring down at them.

"You there," he said, using his riding crop to point at a female goblin. He couldn't be bothered to remember her name. "Come here."

She tottered over to him, twiddling her thumbs and avoiding his gaze. She curtsied and then knelt where he pointed, awaiting further instruction. Jareth waved the rest of them away, though they left with great reluctance. It was curiosity, not concern, that made them want to stay.

"What is your highness wishing, sir?" the goblin squeaked. Jareth smiled down at her.

"Do tell me," he drawled, "what happened tonight?"

"We was playing games and has-ing drinks and foods, sir, as always," she said.

"What kind of games?"

"Missy Sarah was teaching us Go Fishing…"

"Go Fish?"

"…and Truth and Daring," she finished, ignoring the interruption.

"You mean Truth _or_ Dare," he said, his stomach dropping as he remembered the heartbreaking consequences. "What happened?"

"Well, during Missy Sarah's turn she was asking for 'Truth', so Hoggle was asking her to be saying who she was loving the mosts in the world. She was saying that she loveds her family and friends, sir, but Hoggle, he was saying that he meants who she was _in_ love with, sir. Then she kind of frozed, sir."

"What did she do?" Jareth asked, his voice suddenly hoarse.

"She was asking what her dare was to be," the goblin continued, screwing up her leathery little face as she tried to remember. "Hoggle was telling her to be running the labyrinth again, but she is not doing that, sir, no she is not." She shook her head emphatically. "So he was repeating his question, sir, and she was saying that she could not be saying it to us until she was telling _him_ first. She was leaving then – gone so long! – and then she was coming back. Then she was whispering her answer in Hoggle's ear, sir, and he was turning purple. But he was calming down after a long time. But then Missy Sarah was ending party early, so…" She shrugged her shoulders. Jareth nodded and dismissed her silently. She curtsied one last time, leaving him to ponder.

Wait. Ponder? What was there to ponder?

"She loves me," he said slowly. He grinned. "She _loves_ me. That's… good." Pouting, he traced his lower lip as he considered his options. They were very few, and all led back to the one thought: getting to Sarah immediately.

He launched himself out of his throne and leapt down the steps. Would he go on foot (or wing) and give himself time to think of what he wanted to say, or go by crystal? If she had finished the party by now she might very well be going to bed soon. So there was no time to lose.

He formed a crystal ball, rolled it along his sleeves while he formed the power inside and then dropped it.

**

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I think that it's fairly safe to say, dear readers, that there was a happy ending. That scene, however, was not in my original idea, so we won't go there.

**Please review! It's been ages since I wrote any "Labyrinth" stories, though I'm happy to say that I've started reading "The Return to Labyrinth". The graphic novel series, that is.**

**[To those who are reading "Changing the Past, Saving the Future", I apologise for the long wait (again). I've been working on a future story because I haven't enough fodder for the next chapter, nor the ones after that. Anything would involve leaps in time – appropriate, I know, but just a shortcut that I don't want to take yet – so I must come up with ideas in the meantime. Hopefully I'll finish chapter eleven soon, and I'll ask for requests then.]**


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